信用证(Letter of Credit，L/C) ，是指开证银行应申请人的要求并按其指示向第三方开立的载有一定金额的，在一定的期限内凭符合规定的单据付款的书面保证文件，接下来小编为大家整理了什么是信用证，希望对你有帮助哦!

The letter of credit is the bank instrument that assures the person selling merchandise of payment if he makes the agreed-upon shipment. On the other hand, it also assures the buyer that he is not required to pay until the seller ships the goods. It is thus a catalyst that provides the buyer and the seller with mutual protection in dealing with each other.

信用证是银行对销售商品者已装运订购的出口货物承担付款保证的信用工具。另一方面，它还向买方保证，直到卖方装运货物才需付款。因此，正是这种催化剂，它在购货方和销货方的交易过程中对双方都提供相互的保护作用。

An international trading transaction begins when a buyer and a seller sign a contract that records all the elements of the transaction. Having worked out an agreement, the buyer and seller must arrange payment. The buyer will want possession before paying, and the seller will want payment before making delivery. Since each party often has an incomplete knowledge of the other, there is a certain caution to their dealings.

当买方和卖方签署了记录所有交易要素的合同时，一笔国际间的交易业务就开始了。签订好协议，买方和卖方就支付货款事项做出安排。买方想在付款前拥有货物，卖方想在交货前获得货款，由于一方常常对另一方并不十分了解，所以对彼此的交易存有戒心。

At this point, the letter of credit can be extremely useful. The buyer requests his bank to issue a letter of credit in favor of the seller. The letter says, in essence, to the seller: we, the bank, promise that we will pay you when you submit certain documents evidencing that you have made the agreed-upon shipment. The bank has thus substituted its credit for that of the buyer. The letter of credit also protects the buyer, for he knows that he will not be called upon for payment by his bank until the evidence shows that the shipment has actually been effected.

就这个问题而言，信用证非常有用。买方要求其开户行开出以卖方为受益人的信用证，信用证对销售方主要说明：“当你提供有关单据证明你已经装运购货方所订购的货物时，我们银行同意付款”。这样，银行以自己的信用代替了买方的信用。该信用证还保护了买方，因为他知道，只到有证据表明货物确已装运时银行才会要他付款。